…God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.  If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth...If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:5b–6, 9).

No one likes to be called a liar. The word immediately puts us on the defensive. We tend to think of lying as intentionally deceiving someone or hiding something we don’t want another person to discover. 

But some of the hardest lies to recognize are the ones we tell ourselves about our own sin. Could those lies actually keep us from delighting in God? 

I John chapter 1 shows how dishonesty about our sin affects what we say to others, what we believe about ourselves, and even what we say about God. John reveals three ways we may hide the truth about our sin, sometimes without even realizing we’re doing it.

Verse 6 says that I lie to others when I claim fellowship with God while choosing to walk in darkness. I may say that I follow God while knowingly holding on to something that doesn't belong in His light. Perhaps I hide a habit, harbor bitterness, or behave one way around believers and another when no one is watching.

Verse 8 says that I lie to myself when I refuse to acknowledge my own sin. I may minimize it, justify it, or blame someone else: It wasn’t that serious. Anyone would have reacted that way. It’s really someone else’s fault.

Verse 10 goes even further: I make God out to be a liar when I claim that I have not sinned. God says I have sinned, but I insist I haven’t.

So why do we hide our sin, especially from God? Perhaps we fear what His light will expose in us or the changes we may need to make. Hiding can seem easier. 

Yet I’ve seen honesty do the opposite of what we fear. Confessing our struggles to others can bring accountability, healing, and deeper fellowship. Admitting our sin to ourselves can be the first step toward change. And when we confess our sin to God, we agree with Him about what is already true and receive His promise to “forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (v. 9). 

Dear God, please show me any sin I’ve been hiding, excusing, or refusing to admit. Help me bring it into Your light and receive Your forgiveness through Jesus, so that I can delight in my relationship with You and others. Amen.